Israel’s parliament on Monday approved a law enabling the use of the death penalty by hanging for Palestinians convicted of carrying out deadly militant attacks, a move critics say is unlikely to be applied to Jewish extremists found guilty of similar violence.
The measure marks a significant win for the country’s far-right bloc and reflects a tougher posture toward Palestinians following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack and the subsequent war in Gaza. While capital punishment has long existed in Israeli law, it has been carried out only twice in the country’s 78-year history.
